Garment



Septo 11, 1934. Q F, TRAGESER I 1,973,419

GARMENT Filed Dec. 29, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 11, 1934.

c. TRAGESER GARMENT Filed Dec. 29, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Patented Sept. 11,l934

GARMENT Charles F. Trageser, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Stadium Underwear Company, Incorporated, Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application December 29, 1933, Serial No. 704,530

3 Claim.

While the invention is illustrated in connection with a pajama coat, it is also capable of use in various types of garments having sleeves. The invention provides an improved construction of the portion of the garment which underlies the armpit extending down the side of the garment andinto the sleeve.

Deterioration and failure of pajama coats and to arsomewhat less extent of men's shirts and other garments having sleeves, is most frequent- 1y due to the stress to which the back'of-the garment is subjected when the arms are brought forward or raised, thus applying an excess of lateral tension to the back of the garment, particularly the portion of the garment immediately overlying the shoulder blades and that under the arms. w

To overcome this diiliculty and relieve the stress to which the garment is subjected under these and other circumstances and thus increase the life of the garment and the comfort of the wearer is the object of the invention.

The invention relates to an improved insert construction providing an excess fullness at the side and under the arms which fullness is apparent only when it is employed to relieve the tension on the garment referred to, the excess of material being at other times automatically collapsed in such amanner that the appearance and the fit of the garment are in no wise changed or adversely affected and the excess of fabric is concealed on the inside of the garment between the adjacent edges ofthe front and rear sections and beneath the arms.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a garment embodying the features of the invention in the preferred andin various modifled forms which are regarded as of interest in this connection.

In the drawings: I Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragmentary nature showing the sleeve and the adjacent por- Figure 7 is a fragmentary pattern of the back or front of the garment at the side adjacent the sleeve showing the underarm insert made integral with the back or front section of the fabric. Figure 8 is a section on line 8, 8 in Figure 3.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing an elongated insert.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is used to indicate the same or similar parts in the different figures, the illustration discloses a pajama coat or similar garment having a body portion 1 and a sleeve 2. The patterns used in constructing these portions of the garment are of the standard construction, the garment of the illustration difiering from the standard construction only by the presence beneath the arm of the pleated insert 3. The insert referred to is in the preferred form of the invention; reduced substantially to a point at the top at i, the sides 5, 5 ofthe insert being shown as substantially parallel, converging at the top with a full convex curvature at 5', 5. This insert may be described as consisting of a lower elon gated rectangular portion and an upper portion tapered down from the width of the rectangle substantially to a point. The shape may, however, be varied to suit the designer, the lower portion being as wide as may be found desirable and the upper end being tapered to suit the sleeve construction. It is of interest that the insert 3 'is preferably in a single piece but may be conrial 6, joined by a seam 7, or it may be indefinitely elongated as shown at 4' in Figures 6 ex-' tending even down to the bottom edge of the garment beneath the sleeve.

Figure 7 shows an insert 8 formed in a single piece with the front or back section 9 of the garment, though this construction involves less economy of material than is incident to the use of a separate insert as illustrated in the previous figures.

While the insert is normally of woven fabric like the remainder of the garment, it may be made of knit fabric of an elastic nature or other elastic material.

In the manufacture of the garment in accordance with the preferred form of the invention, it being'understood that this practice is subject to considerable variation, the forward upright longitudinal edge 5 of the insert 3 is first stitched to the vertical side edge 11 of the front section 10 of the garment up to the armhole 13, the stitching being then continued into the sleeve along V 5 In accordance with the practice inthe manufacture of these garments, the side seam 14 joining the front section 10 and the back section 15 is then stitched from the bottom upwardly, the longitudinal edge 5 of the insert being ,thus stitched to the back 15 of the garment up to the point where the insert 3 crosses the armhole seam 13. From this point up to the upper end 4 of the insert the edge 5' of the insert is stitched to the rear edge 17 of the sleeve so that the insert 3 extends upwardly from a point intermediate the side beneath the sleeve to a point in the sleeve beyond the armhole seam 13.

The arrangement of the material at the lower end of the insert is an important feature. The front 10 and the back 15 of the garment having been joined by the side seam 14 immediately at the bottom of the insert 3, the lateral dimension of the bottom of the insert 3 at 18 is looped upon itself the corners 3', 3f being brought together. This loop due to the collapse of the material immediately becomes flattened on the inside of the garment, as indicated in Figure 8, the flattened or folded loophaving side edges 19 and 20 which extend upwardly into the body of the insert in the form of pleats 21 and 22, whereby the insert is collapsed so that it disappears beneath the arms in the normal position of the garment as worn. These pleats 21 and 22 may be made permanent or substantially so by a line .of stitching 24 engaging the side seam 14 (see Figure 3) and extending upwardly for a short distance as indicated in Figure 3 between the two edges 19 and20 of the pleats 21 and 22 securing the center of the insert to the side seam. By thus securing the pleats on the inside of the garment the fullness of the insert is retained normally within the garment between the edges of the side seams 14. The stitching at the edges of the insert as shown is supplemented at the lower end of the insert by ornamental stitching 25 inthe form of a downwardly disposed arrow head on the outside of the garment and in the preferred construction there is another area of stitching. in a similar or other ornamental design at 25' at the top of the insert. By means of this ornamental stitching the two ends of the insert may be secured and ornamented and the converging edges of the sleeve and body sections at the two ends of the insert are thus covered and protected.

It will be understood that the insert 3 may be made in a plurality of pieces or sections 6, 6 as illustrated in Figure 5, the various pieces or sections being suitably formed and secured by means of any suitable lines of stitching as indicated at 7 in Figure 5. It will also be understood that the underarm insert 3 as described may be of indefinite length extending if desired to the bottom edge of the garment, as indicated at 3 in Figure 6 and further illustrated in Figure 9. It will also be understood that the insert 3 may be formed in a single piece with the front or back or other portion of the garment as indicated-in Figure 7, the insert being shown at 8 and the front or back of the garment shown fragmentarily at 9.

The insert located as shown in the side seam between the front and back of the garment and extending upwardly into the sleeve where it is located between the front and rear bottom edges of the sleeve section 2 provides an excess of which would otherwise occur at the back and unfullnesswhen requiredand becomes invisiblewhen this fullness is not necessary, the insertbeing automatically pleated in the normal position of the garment when wom,,the pleats 21 and 22 secured as illustrated, being efiective to control the collapse of the material in a regular, sightly and satisfactory manner. This excess of fullness becomes available when the arms are thrown forwardly and outwardly, relieving the tension der the arms not only increasing the comfort of the wearer,=but indefinitely extending the life of the garment.

This extra fullness is of great advantage in providing an excess of material to prevent undue tension in the back over the shoulder blades and under the arms when the arms of the wearer are raised or thrown forwardly either in standing or lying. It is of particular interest that this fullness is so concealed in the normal position of the wearer that it does not affect the fit or appearance of the garment. It is normally pleatd, and thus folded or collapsed inside the garment between the adjacent edges of the front and rear sections which when the insert is collapsed, lie close together, the side seam 14 which joins the front and rear sections below the insert being apparently continuous up to the armhole.

I have thus described specifically and in detail a pajama coat or other sleeve type of garment embodying the features of the invention in the preferred and in various related forms in order that the manner of constructing, applying, operating and using the invention may be fully understood, the speciflc terms herein being used descriptively rather than in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

What I claim as new-and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: p

1. In a pajama coat or other sleeve type of garment composed of front and rear sections a side seam by which these sections are secured together at the sides, the garment having a sleeve seam extending down the inside of the sleeve, the side seam and sleeve seam being discontinued beneath the arm, an insert having an upper end of reducing taper and pointed at the top and a lower portion, the tapered portion being sewed to the two edges of the sleeve beneath the arm and terminating in the said sleeve seam, the low er portion of the insert'havingits lateral edges secured to the adjacent edges of the front and back of the garment, the front and back being fitted independently of the insert so that their adjacent edges at the insert normally tend to draw together, the lower end of the insert being of excess width and looped laterally having its meeting edges secured to the top of the side seam, the loop being flattened forming upright folds inside the garment, the insert having upright parallel pleats which terminate at the lower ends in said folds, which thus serve to locate the pleats whereby the fullness of the insert is normally concealed within the garment, being available to give extra fullness to the garment when the arms are moved upwardly or forwardly.

2. A pajama coat or similar garment composed of front and rear sections, a side seam by which said sections are secured together as to the bottom portion. thereof, the garment having sleeves each with a seam extending from beneath the arm along on the inside of the sleeve, said garment having an insert connecting said front and rear sections at the sides immediately above said side seam and extending upwardly into the sleeve beneath the armhole, said insert being of excess width at the bottom and gathered on the inside or the garment at the top of the side seam forming parallel pleats extending upwardly from the bottom of the insert, the adjacent edges of the front and rear sections tending to drawtogether when the garment is worn, whereby the fullness of the insert is normally concealed on the inside of the garment, being available to provide extra fullness when the pleats are distended by throwing the arms upwardly and forwardly, thus reducing the tension on the back of the garment atbelow the taper providing an excess width at thebottom, the insert having one side edge up to the taper secured to the back edge of the front portion of the garment, the other side edge up to the taper being secured to the front edge oi. the back portion of the garment, the iront and back being sewed together below the insert and fitted to the body so that their edges which are sewed to the insert tend to draw together, the tapered portion having its front edge sewed to the front lower edge of the sleeve section, and its back edge sewed to the back edge of the sleeve section, so that it extends into the sleeve, being tapered to a point in the sleeve seam beneath the arm, the insert being folded laterally at its lower end so its opposite edges substantially meet, said edges being secured to the top of the side seam forming the bottom or the insert into a loop which is flattened and secured on the inside of the garment, forming the insert into parallel upright pleats extending upwardly toward the top of the insert, so that the insert is normally collapsed inside the garment, but yields to lateral tension and opens providing an excess oi material to reduce the ten sionin response to the motions of the wearer.

CHARLES F. TRAGESER. 

